The cleaning products found under most kitchen sinks can wreak havoc on your health and budget, as well as our planet. In The Organically Clean Home (F+W Media, 2014), author Becky Rapinchuk offers 150 easy-to-make homemade cleaning products. In this excerpt, from chapter 3 “Recipes from the Kitchen”, learn how to make a homemade detergent powder without harmful chemicals.
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: The Organically Clean Home
Lemon Dishwasher Detergent Powder
It’s especially important to avoid using toxic chemicals on things we eat and drink from. Rest assured that with this recipe, all you’ll get is sparkly clean dishes. The fresh scent is amazing and it mixes up in a snap.
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1 cup borax
• 20 drops lemon essential oil
To make:Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
To use:Place 1 heaping tablespoon per load in the dish detergent compartment and run as usual.
To store:Pour into a glass container with a lid. (I love antique-colored canning jars for dish powder storage. They look stylish and keep the mixture dry.) Makes 24 loads, 1 heaping tablespoon per load.
Helpful Hint
If you have hard water, you know that you have various issues when it comes to spots on your glassware and dishes. The Epsom salts will nontoxically soften the water and will help to eliminate spots on your glassware. If you have already installed a water softener in your home or you don’t need a water softener, you may still get spots on glassware if you aren’t using a rinsing agent in your dishwasher.
You can add white vinegar to your rinse dispenser to act as a rinse aid, and you can try the Epsom salts in your dishwasher detergent recipe. Start with 1/4 cup of vinegar instead of the full 1/2 cup and increase if needed. Feel free to add the Epsom salts in your detergent recipe right along with the vinegar rinse. Experiment to find the perfect ratio for your water.
Variations
For Hard Water: Add 1/2 cup Epsom salts.
Unscented: Omit the essential oil.
Lemon and Peppermint: Use 10 drops lemon and 10 drops peppermint essential oils.
Citrus: Use 10 drops lemon and 10 drops orange essential oils.
Excerpted from The Organically Clean Home Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Rapinchuk, cleanmama.net, and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
